The Lightning Thief, Percabeth Style
by SelfishDisingenuity
Summary: Basically, the movie, but Percy dates Annabeth before the beginning. Obviously movie-verse, and obviously Percabeth. OOC Annabeth.
1. Part 1 of 4

**The Lightning Thief, Percabeth Style**

**Rating:** K

**Summary:** Basically, the movie, but Percy dates Annabeth before the beginning. Obviously movie-verse, and obviously Percabeth. OOC Annabeth.

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way associated with Chris Columbus, the actors/actresses, nor the crew for that matter. Some of the lines may be altered to fit the Percabeth-ness, or because I couldn't understand it.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX**

**~Skip the whole Zeus/Poseidon thing and move on to Percy, Grover, and Annabeth~**

"And he's alive! Haha!" Grover clapped and I stood up, handing the towel to my boyfriend, Percy Jackson.

"Percy Jackson is a beast! You're a beast, man!" Grover announced.

"How long was that?" Percy inquired.

"Seven minutes," I said, looking at the clock.

"Seven minutes?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Man, that's ridiculous. How do you do it?" Grover asked.

"I dunno. I just like being in water." Percy dried himself up. "It's the one place I can think."

"Mm-hmm," Grover said.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~High School~**

"Ah, I wish I could spend all day underwater instead of this place," Percy groaned and I pouted. "Except with you along underwater, too." He wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"Mm-hmm; it's like high school without the 'Musical,'" Grover agreed.

I smirked. Those two were hard of learning. Considering my parentage, learning was easy for me, even if I was dyslexic and ADHD like Percy.

"Every day is the same thing," Grover said, watching two people fight behind them.

I groaned in disgust.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~English Class~**

I watched attentively as the woman wrote something I couldn't read because of my dyslexia on the chalkboard. The woman took a surveying look around the room.

"Good morning. I'm Ms. Dodds, your substitute English teacher. Can someone please explain what Shakespeare was trying to convey in this line from Othello? Percy Jackson?" Ms. Dodds called.

Percy stared at the board in confusion.

"Well?" Ms. Dodds said expectantly.

"I'm sorry, I don't know," Percy gave up. He was probably seeing the same thing I was from his dyslexia.

"Anybody else?" Ms. Dodds questioned.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Gabe's Apartment Complex~**

I followed Percy as he trudged across the sidewalk, clearly still suffering from the embarrassment in English.

"Hey Mom, I'm home!" Percy called as he stepped into the building.

"I'm up here, honey!" Mrs. Ugliano, or just Sally to me, called.

"Hi. Hello, Annabeth," Sally said, "so how was school today?"

"The usual," Percy replied, giving her a small kiss on the cheek while I just waved.

"I think this, uh, dyslexia thing is getting worse," Percy said, picking up a book, studying it, then putting it down.

"Oh, why do you think that?" Sally questioned.

"I dunno, maybe it's the ADHD," Percy suggested. "Mom, I thought this school was supposed to make things better."

"Percy I know how hard this is for you. Someday, it'll all make sense," Sally said and turned to me, "Help yourself, Annabeth. There's plenty of food in the fridge."

"Really? When? Hmm? Tonight? Tomorrow? When?" Percy questioned.

As I grabbed an apple from the refrigerator, the door opened.

Gabe Ugliano.

A quick description of him: A very fat, lazy man who is bald. He has virtually no money from gambling and can't hold a job. He stinks like the sewer.

"Woman!" Gabe called.

"Hi, Gabe," Sally greeted.

"Where's my beer?"

"It's in the fridge."

I walked over to Percy.

"So what? It's supposed to magically fly out of the icebox and into my hand?" Percy sarcastically gave an "I-don't-know-maybe" gesture.

As Sally walked past him, Gabe laughed a bit and smacked her bottom. I turned away in disgust, and Percy said, "Oh, come on. Do you have to do that right here? It's disgusting. We're in a kitchen."

Sally put Gabe's beer on the table. "Yeah, real charmer ya got there," Percy said as Sally walked by.

"Show some respect, okay? That's my mom right there," Percy continued. Gabe stared at him weirdly. Then he stood up. "Move aside, Pretty Lady," he said to me and thudded Percy's head against the wall, "This is _my_ house. You show some respect."

"Don't you dare call my girlfriend 'Pretty Lady,'" Percy called after Gabe as the sewer of a human waddled away. "Why do you stay with that man? He smells like a sewer. He sleeps till noon everyday and he can't even hold a job. Why do you stay with him?"

"Look, Percy, he's helped us in ways you just don't understand," Sally replied.

"You're right; I don't understand," Percy retorted. "I don't get it."

Percy grabbed my hand and climbed out to the fire escape. "I love you," I said, caressing his arm.

"Yeah, love ya too," he replied, still fuming a bit after the Gabe-thing. I kissed him on the cheek. "Well, let's just focus on this: we're together, and we'll always be together no matter what, 'kay?" He nodded and we kissed, this time on the lips.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Museum Fieldtrip~ **

I climbed up the stairs with Percy and Grover, shouldering my bag on one side, while pressing my other shoulder against Percy.

He stopped suddenly. "Something wrong?" I asked. "No, no, it's fine," he said, turning back to the museum.

"There are twelve Olympian gods. The Big Three (A.N.: OMG, little perverted joke there!) are the brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. They attained power by overthrowing their father, Kronos, by chopping him into little pieces. The three gods have been rivaled ever since, always arguing, always threatening war," Chiron said and winked at me. Of course, I knew what he meant by the last sentence. Percy gave me a questioning look, but I just shrugged.

"On several occasions, they would come down to Earth, and – how shall I say this?" Chiron continued.

"Hook up?" Grover suggested, earning a laugh from the class, except for Percy, whose eyes were trained on me.

"They would hook up with mortals. The children of these beings were half-god, half-human. Can anyone tell me what they were called? Percy?" Chiron said. Grover nudged him and he looked back at the old centaur in a human disguise. "Oh, I'm sorry, what, Mr. Brunner?" Percy questioned.

"What is the proper name for the offspring of a human and a god?"

"Demigod," Percy answered.

"Exactly. And many grew to be great heroes like Hercules and Achilles. Can you name another? I'll give you a hint. You have something in common." Chiron directed his attention to the portrait behind him, depicting the demigod Perseus slaying the sea monster Cetus.

Percy thought for a moment, and his eyes swiveled up to the stone carving, as did my eyes. The letters rearranged themselves into readable words: Perseus defeats Cetus. "Percy," he muttered under his breath. "Perseus?" he spoke a little louder.

Grover and I looked at him. It was most certain of what he was, now that he could read ancient Greek.

"Correct," Chiron said. He steered his chair to another stone tablet. "Now, over here, we have a depiction of Hercules defeating the Nemean Lion. Hercules killed the beast with his bare hands and took the skin as a trophy. This was the first of Hercules's labors…"

Chiron droned on while Ms. Dodds shoulder me, "Excuse me, Ms. Chase. I must speak with Percy Jackson alone." I nodded. She was just a substitute teacher. What harm could she possibly be to Percy?

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~After Alecto/Ms. Dodds reveals her true form~**

Chiron, Grover, and I barged into the room

"Percy!" Grover shouted.

"Whoa!" Percy said as Ms. Dodds glared at all three of us then shot up in altitude.

"Release him!" Chiron commanded.

"You!" Alecto growled.

"Release him or I swear I'll tear you to pieces!" Chiron commanded again. Alecto considered the situation and swiftly dropped towards the ground, only to release Percy and flee.

"Whoa, okay. I should be on vacation," Percy huffed back and forth, muttering curses under his breath.

"Oh, babe, are you okay, are you hurt at all?" I asked as I half-walked-half-jogged over to him. I hugged him and said, "Everything's gonna be okay, it's gonna be fine."

"Whoa, 'kay, wait. Did that thing just really happen? Did she just turn into that thing?!" Percy shouted.

"A Fury," Chiron explained. "Concealed in our school; I should've known."

"Wait, a Fury? What's a Fury? And why did you say you could tear her to pieces?" Percy was hyperventilating.

"What did she want from you?" Chiron calmly asked.

"She said something… Something about me stealing a lightning bolt…," Percy recalled.

Chiron, Grover, and I all looked at each other. "They've found him. He's in danger," Chiron bluntly stated.

"Who found me?"

"He's no longer safe."

"Okay, where should we move him?"Grover asked.

"We have no choice. The Camp."

"Huh? What camp? Look, I'm standing right here!" Percy was desperate and I tightened my grip on him. "It's okay, it's gonna be okay," I repeated.

"They think he's the Thief. There's no where safe on heaven and earth for him now. Percy, take this to defend yourself. It's a powerful weapon. Guard it well. Only use it in times of severe distress." Chiron handed Percy Anaklusmos, Riptide, if translated into English. Wow, I was amazed. To give Percy such a dangerous and powerful weapon once wielded by Hercules took a lot of guts. After all, he'd never had any training on how to use a sword before.

"This is pen. This is a PEN!" Percy said, shaking Anaklusmos up and down for more expression. "Take him to his mother, and DON'T let him out of your sight. Annabeth, we shall head to Camp ourselves," Chiron beckoned and I walked away with him, sending Percy one last sad glance before I had to wait three days to see him again.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Briefly after Percy wakes up~**

I quickly dispatched the group of unlucky campers that were fighting me and took the time to look at Percy, waving in a friendly manner at him, but my expression showed my sympathy for him for losing his mother.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Briefing of the Capture the Flag game and the choosing of Percy's team~**

"Haha! This is always a fun game to watch!" Grover remarked as Percy, he, and I all headed to the cliff.

"Agh, God! How do you guys wear this stuff? It weighs more than me!" Percy complained.

"Ah, so you're insinuating that you are fat?" I asked. Percy shook his head.

"Trust me. Wear it or you'll get killed," Grover poked in. "Wait, what?" Percy said. Grover and I chuckled.

"Heroes! Warriors! Fall in!" Chiron called. Everyone grouped up in their respective teams.

"Helen, Paris! Stop lollygagging!" Chiron scolded. "Percy, step forward," Chiron said.

"This is Percy Jackson! And he's gonna need a team!" Some giggles from the nymphs ("Ooh, he's cute," or "Wow, what a geek!") and ridicules from some campers shot through the crowds.

"We'll take him," I volunteered. I handed him a red shirt and a helmet. "Go change your shirt quickly. I'll meet you back here and we can discuss our plan then."

"Yeah, but no 'We've gotta keep Percy safe 'cause I love him too much and I'd hate for him to get scars on his wonderful, sexy body' plans, 'kay, Annabeth!" a person on my team called. I shot him a glare. If looks could kill…


	2. Part 2 of 4

**The Lightning Thief, Percabeth Style**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the following parts: As Percy Changes, Planning, and Percy vs. Luke.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~As Percy Changes~

I stood outside Percy's cabin, tapping my foot impatiently. "So, who's your parent?" Percy asked from inside.

"Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy," I answered.

"So that's where you get your smarts from?"

"Sure, I guess you could put it that way."

"Gee, the only thing you don't get an A in is English. You're practically a walking encyclopedia."

"Well, hurry up. The team's waiting."

Percy stepped out of his cabin. He looked the same, but his blue shirt was replaced by a red one.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Planning~

"Okay, guys. We have to get Percy to the flag. Being the son of Poseidon, he's the only child of the Big Three in Camp. And we have to use that to our advantage. The Blue Soldiers' base is near the river, so if Percy runs into Luke, he can use the water's power to help him win." I pointed at the river, then at the banks to signify where the base was on the map.

"Wait, who's Luke?" Percy asked.

"The best swordsman our Camp's got. But you can beat him, right, Son of Poseidon?" a team member said.

"Uh, sure." Percy looked at me. I nodded. Luke was a challenge, but surely, the river would help Percy win for us.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Percy vs. Luke~

I stood by the trees, pushing aside everyone who stood in the way. Percy laid on the floor, facedown. I gasped.

His hand slowly inched towards the water. He actually listened during the planning. As the water touched the tip of his index finger, it slowly ran up his arm and coated his cheek, completely healing all of the injuries he'd ever sustained during the fight. I sighed in relief.

Luke's face wore the "Uh-oh" expression.

The Blue Soldiers stopped cheering and instead, the Red Killers (our team; Chiron thought our name was a bit too bloody) started shouting whoops of joy.

Percy stood up and demolished the opposing blue team members that stood in his way. He fought Luke for about three minutes; their skill was equal. Finally, Percy dispatched Luke and walked straight over to the flag. No one dared to block him. He had a cocky grin on his face. I smiled and gave him a kiss and hug. As Percy ripped the flag off of the pole and held it up in a heroic stance, Luke wobbled over and gave him a pat on the back. "Wow, you're really good, Son of Poseidon."

"Thanks," Percy replied.

Luke turned to me. "You're really lucky to have a guy like that. These only come once in a generation."

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Capture the Flag Banquet~

Percy plucked a few chicken legs from the table and onto his plate. "Um, hey, Percy? We're having a part at our place and we would love it if you came." some nymphs asked, twirling their hair. "Oh, I would love to come. That'd be great." Percy smiled at them. I felt a twinge of jealousy as I stomped over there.

"Beat it nymphs!" I yelled. "Great, Percy. One win and you forget all about your girlfriend."

"Hey, I was going to ask you if you wanted to come later, too!"

"Yeah, but it seemed as if you were _flirting_ with them!"

"Alright," Percy said as he put his glass and plate onto the table. He grabbed me by the shoulders. "Annabeth Chase, I will love you until the day I die. You are a part of me and I will never let you go. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I thank the gods for sending me a wonderful person to love forever." He kissed me softly on the lips.

Grover wolf-whistled in the background somewhere. I couldn't tell; the only thing that mattered to me was that Percy was here, holding me, and kissing me. Chiron coughed and we broke apart.

Percy grabbed our food and led me away from the group of watchers, clearly embarrassed that so many people saw him confess his undying love for me.

"So, feeling like a hero?" I asked as soon as we were out of reach of nosey ears.

"More like a mutant. I'm not going to grow a fish tail or gills, am I?"

"Not likely. Although a huge ego is out of the question."

"You know Luke could've killed me out there? I could've died. And all you did was stand on the banks, gawking. Then, after I won, you became all trophy-girl-like and started making out with me like there was no tomorrow."

"Hey, I thought that speech back there was true." I feigned hurt.

"It was, but it's just really weird for me now, you know? All of these people think I stole Zeus's bolt, and now practically every monster in the world is out to get me."

"Well, I feel for you. My mother or your father might send something after me."

"Really? Why?"

"They hate each other. To have two of their children bonding, it would be something unforgivable to them."

"They do?"

"Mm-hmm. But that doesn't matter now. All that does matter is that we're going to be together forever. Nothing can tear us apart."

I leaned in for another kiss, but a large burst of fire startled me and Percy grabbed me defensively, pushing me behind him, and one had above his cup of water, ready to gain power if he needed to. Luke had the "Holy cow" expression plastered on his face.

"Percy Jackson, show yourself!" the big fire monster shouted. Percy and I looked at each other. To further emphasize his anger and frustration, the monster sent a big, fat fireball that blasted the roast pork into smithereens. Luckily, no campers around the pork were hurt. Everyone screamed and Percy pushed me further behind him and into the arms of a very protective Luke. Of course, after what we've been through, there would be no doubt that Luke would still be protective of me. The monster sent several fireballs at the other platters of food, leaving us hungry and scared. "Hades!" Chiron yelled and pushed aside to crowd to see the god of Death.

"Percy Jackson, bring me the bolt!" Hades crooned. "Be a good boy. Hand it to me and I'll exchange it for your mother."

Percy surged forward. "No!" I yelled after him, but Luke wouldn't let me out of his death grip. "Keep her safe if Hades decides to do the same thing he did to the innocent pork to me!" Percy hissed to Luke.

"My mother's gone!" Percy shouted, full of agony, probably remembering the moment when she perished in the Minotaur's grasp.

"No, your mother is still alive. I sent the Minotaur to abduct her. She is here with me in the Underworld." Hades held up one hand, and in a plume of fire, a faint outline of Sally appeared.

"Mom?" Percy said disbelievingly.

"Percy," she murmured, glad to see her son once more. Hades swept his hand through the plume and the connection was cut.

"What have you done with my mother?" Percy growled with a deadly glint in his eyes.

"If you ever want to see your mother again, you will bring me the bolt!" Hades yelled and disappeared in the same extravagant fashion as when he arrived. Percy gritted his teeth and Luke released me.

I ran over to Percy and hugged him. "Chiron, I have to go get her!" he insisted.

"You don't have the bolt!"  
"Look, I'll tell him the truth! When he realizes I'm not the Thief, he'll release her!"

"No, you cannot negotiate with Hades. When he finds out you don't have the bolt, he will kill you and your mother."

"This is our only chance."

"No, listen to our plan. Travel to Olympus. Bargain with Zeus. We will do anything in our power to bring back your mother."

Grover had joined us and was now standing next to me.

Percy stared helplessly at me. "Okay," he murmured.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~As Percy Leaves~

Percy slung a bag over his shoulder and trudged out of his cabin.

"Going somewhere?" Grover asked.

"Yeah, out for a walk," he replied.

"A walk? Can I come?" I questioned, stepping out of my hiding place.

"Oh, geez, you too?" I shrugged.

"No, no, you cannot come with me on a walk."

"But, why? We can go without Grover. And we can do all sorts of – how shall I put this – _things_ without anybody noticing." I winked at him. Percy flushed. "No. I'm going alone."

"I'm comin' with you," Grover said.

"No."

"Heh, you're bein' followed."

"But Percy - !" I whined. "Look, Annabeth, as much as I love you, I cannot let you come with me. I do want to do … _things_ with you, but just not now."

Grover still walked beside Percy and me. "I'm coming with you."

"No!" Percy shouted, skidding to a stop. I was startled. He'd never used that tone on me before. He was kind and sweet, though sometimes rough. This was different. He was demanding. It was if he hated me. As if he thought I was annoying.

"Okay, just STOP following me Grover, because I don't think you're that cool. You're just a perverted satyr who doesn't get that girls DON'T WANT TO BE WITH YOU." Percy turned to me. "And you! Stop being a clingy bitch and start being a mature woman like all daughters of Athena should be!"

I felt tears coming and I turned away to hide them. Only then did Percy realize how harsh his words were.

"Oh, oh, God, I am _so _sorry, Annabeth. I love you, I really do, but I just don't want you to get hurt."

I ignored him.

"Okay, look at me. Look. At. Me. What I said at the banquet was true. I love you too much. I don't want you to get hurt because of me and my mother. I want you to stay out of harm's way. Maybe it's a natural boyfriend instinct, but really, I beg for your forgiveness. What I said was cruel and harsh. I shouldn't have said it. I'm sorry," Percy said and knelt in front of me. "Take me to your cabin. I will not get up until you say you'll forgive me. I will wither and die, but it will not matter to me, so long as you are happy with my suffering."

"Oh, you silly Son of Poseidon!" I said, finally unable to control myself. "I love you too! And I would never be happy with your suffering!" I kissed him. Grover cleared his throat. "Alright, to Hades it is."

"So, who knows how to get to the Underworld?" Grover asked.

"Did not think of that one," Percy said as I groaned at his stupidity.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX

I will be changing the rating to T for extensive use of language and perverted-ness during the Lotus Casino parts.


	3. Part 3 of 4

**The Lightning Thief, Percabeth Style**

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX **

Suddenly, I had an epiphany. Well, it wouldn't be classified as an epiphany, but more light a light bulb that just lit up above my head. "I think I know someone who might."

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Luke's Cabin~**

We all stepped inside the tent, taking in all of the technology that was lodged inside of the small area. There was a big plasma screen TV, and, even if I am the daughter of Athena, I did not fathom how Luke would've snuck that thing into Camp. Technology was forbidden, after all.

"Luke," I called to get his attention.

"Hmm?" he asked sharply, still focusing his attention on _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. _"Hey, guys. Percy figured you'd stopped by. Everybody does. Get away from all that Renaissance Faire stuff, you know? But, um, welcome to the modern world." Luke stepped away from the television once he lost.

"Cool, new stuff," Grover murmured.

"What are _you_ guys up to?" Luke questioned suspiciously.

"We're goin' to get my mom back," Percy explained.

"Oh," Luke said. I could tell he had an idea formed in his mind, but I couldn't exactly tell what it was.

"You're dad is the messenger of the gods, one of the only ones who has gotten in and out of the Underworld," I intervened. "Do you have any idea how?"

"Mm. My dad's a jerk; I've never met him."

"You too?" Percy said.

"Yeah, I guess we all got 'daddy' issues, huh? That's because all gods are the same. Selfish. They only care about themselves."

When I was just about to leave the room because Luke's long break of speaking made me think he had nothing more to say, he resumed, "But I once broke into my dad's house; got some cool stuff."

He walked over to a shelf and plucked a shoebox off of it. It was covered in dust and Luke blew on it to clear it away. Grover coughed. "It's for you," Luke explained and handed Percy the box.

He and I looked at it curiously.

The lid was pretty stuck on, probably from not being opened for so long. But finally, Percy managed to pry it off. A red sneaker with wings lifted itself out of the box and its tiny wings started flapping, propelling it upwards and away from us. "Flying shoes?" Percy asked in amazement.

"They're my dad's. He has tons of these little guys." He grabbed the shoe before it could make it out of the tent. "Won't even miss 'em. Look underneath the other one."

Percy pulled out a paper. Luke placed the shoe back into the box and Percy closed the lid. Percy handed the box to me.

"You see, people have gone to the Underworld without actually having to be dead. Hercules did it; Orpheus did it; my dad does it all the time. Getting in is the easy part. Getting out, now that's tricky. This is a map to Persephone's Pearls." Luke leaned onto the table.

"Persephone? Hades's wife?" Percy said.

"Yeah, he forced her to be his wife. Keeps her prisoner." I peered over Percy's shoulder to take a good look at the map.

"Needless to say she hates it there. It's hot, he's a weirdo. So, she has, um, 'secret visitors.'" Luke grinned.

"Hmm," Grover muttered.

"Hmm," Luke mimicked, but a hint of "you-get-the-perverted-ness,-don't-you?" was in his voice. "She keeps Pearls for them all over the world. Now, these pearls, they provide a quick escape from the Underworld. You could use them to get out."

"So, how do the Pearls work?" Grover asked.

"Easy. You take a Pearl, step on it, crush it, and visualize where you want to be taken. Right now, there are three Pearls in the United States. This map'll guide you there. Right here is your first location," he tapped a spot on the map.

"Aunty Em's Garden Emporium," Grover read. I was surprised to find that I could read it, but since it was from the gods, their children should be able to read as well.

"Once you find the Pearl, the map'll show you the next one, the next one, and then you're off to Hades. Which, uh, reminds me. You guys might need some extra protection, so, uh, my favorite shield." All I saw was a bunch layers stacked up on one another, while there was a circle on the end that had a man with a helmet on.

"You might wanna take a step back," Luke warned.

Percy stared at the shield for a bit, and then put it on his arm. After tightening his grip on it, the layers spread out and became the full circle-shaped shield that most campers used. "Hey, thanks, Luke," Percy said, giving the elder boy a smack on the shoulder.

"Ah, don't mention it. But you're gonna have to promise me one thing." We all looked at each other. "You see my dad on the highway to hell-," Luke began. "Yeah?" Percy cut in. "-kick his ass for me."

Percy nodded uncertainly

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Aunty Em's Garden Emporium~**

I looked around at all of the statues in the courtyard. Percy was busy staring at the map and Grover was making a mustache out of a little chalk he brought. "This place definitely needs and extreme makeover," he said.

"Helloo?" Percy called.

"Hello?" Grover tried.

I stared at a statue of two lovers. They were perfect, bodies entangled together; the posture was almost human-like. The only imperfection of the statue was the lovers' faces. They were absolutely terrified. It would've looked like they were reuniting with each other after a long separation, had their faces not shown absolute horror.

"Anybody home in Annieville? Heh, check this out. They got free sodas." Grover limped over to the small container. I was kind of feeling thirsty too, so I followed him. When Grover opened the lid, we found there were not any sodas, but rather a whole pack of rats living inside the box. Grover screamed and Percy looked at us weirdly. "Rats!" I explained. Percy shrugged. "Okay, that's nasty. The Health Department needs to give this place an F." Grover wiped his hand on his shirt.

I peered down a hallway and found a whole bunch of statues lined up. Almost as if they were posing for a picture. "Hey, guys, check this out." Percy messed around with the wind chime before catching up with us.

I pulled up my sleeve and dunked my hand in the water of the fountain, pulling out a bunch of coins. "Gold drachmas."

"Means we're on the right track," Grover said.

"Here," I said to Percy and put the coins in his hand. His fingers lingered on mine and I made the mistake of looking in his eyes. I momentarily got lost in them and realized how close they were to the color of the sea.

I snapped back to reality. "How are we gonna find a Pearl in this place?"

"Good question. Okay, let's split up. Check everything."

"Good idea." Grover looked around.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"I'mma go this way," Grover pointed with one of his crutches.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Further into the Building~**

I turned around the corner, staring at all of the statues. They were absolutely beautiful. They're faces looked real, but maybe even a bit too real. I reached a dead end and was about to help Percy with his search, but a hand grabbed my shoulder and I let out a small scream. It was only a mere mortal. "She's coming!" the woman cried hysterically.

"What? Who?"

"That woman! The artist! My poor husband!" I couldn't really understand what she was saying; it was all in chunks of sentences. "Help me, please help me!" She grabbed my hand and started dragging me with her. I had no choice but to follow.

She dragged me through all of the corridors; I was surprised I hadn't run into Grover or Percy yet.

"Percy! Annabeth!" I heard Grover cry suddenly.

"Grover?" Percy's shout was in response. I was about to tell the woman that I had friends here and we would get out, but she wouldn't listen. She was still in hysterics.

"Annabeth! Baby, we have to get out of here!" Percy called again.

"Oh, no! We'll never leave!" the woman yanked me once more, but came to an immediate stop.

There stood a woman in our path. She was Caucasian, and she wore a turban along with sunglasses. "Well this is a fabulous surprise. It's so… Heartening to have such young visitors. We get so lonely here, don't we? That's why I create my statues." The woman placed a hand on a man holding a woman.

"They're my only company, Daughter of Athena."

"How do you know me?"

Then it hit me. Medusa.

"You have such beautiful hair. I once had hair like that." She stalked over to me and started playing with my hair. When I shuddered, she tugged on it. "I was courted. Desired by many suitors. But that all changed, because of your mother, the woman who cursed me. And turned me into this!"

"Don't look!" I commanded before the woman took off her turban.

"They say the eyes are windows to the soul. I hope you find my eyes… Attractive." I shuddered again as the snakes she had for hair hissed. "So rude not looking people in the eyes."

"Come on," Medusa taunted. "Sneak. A. Peek."

I felt the mortal's grip on my wrist slacken a bit, and then tighten even more. Then, I felt her turn into stone.

"You'll make a wonderful addition to my collection. We'll be friends forever. Do you mind?" I heard a sharp sound, as if Medusa placed glasses onto a hook.

"Sooner or later, you will open those eyes." I felt the snakes tugging at my hair. "The temptation to look at me is too hard to resist." She was right.

"Don't look, Annabeth. Don't open your eyes. Come on, baby use some willpower here!" Percy shouted. Idiot, then Medusa could hear him.

"Who's that? Another demigod…? Hmm, I can sense you."

"NO! Percy, get out of here! Get the Pearl and go! Don't send her after you!" I shouted. I heard Medusa saunter away.

I looked around, trying to find something that would get my hand out of the stone woman's death grip.

I felt and hand grabs my shoulder and I screamed, closing my eyes.

"Need a hand?" a familiar voice said.

"Oh, Grover," I sighed. I turned around to look at him then moved to the right so he wouldn't hit me with his crutch if he missed the stone hand. Grover stepped back a bit, and then brought his crutch down, severing the statues hand. I moved it around a bit before I could get it off my hand.

"Come on, let's go," Grover said.

We ran out to the back and Grover grabbed the keys to Medusa's truck. He tossed them to me and I entered the vehicle, starting the old hunk of metal up.

I bashed the truck into the building, head ducked down and not really caring what I missed. "Are you okay?" I asked Grover. "OH!" Grover laughed. "Yeah, I'm okay." We still had our eyes closed.

I heard a sword slash and a sickening sound, the sound of severing a body part off. Medusa gasped. "Heads up," Percy said. Then, he smacked the hood. "Hey guys, it's cool to open up your eyes."

"Annabeth, that was great, great demigod driving," Grover remarked. We fist-bumped each other and Percy gave me a jealous glare. I kissed him. "Thanks for saving me." Percy smiled, satisfied. But, then he turned his attention to the severed head on the floor. "Ew."

"We should take it with us." I stared disgustedly at it.

"Ew, the head? Oh that's sick," Grover shook his head.

"If you open the eyes, they still work. Dead or alive. You never know when that might come in handy."

"Yeah, you're right. But I'm not touching it."

"Ugh, come on man, just wrap it up in your jacket 'til we get to another closed building," Percy groaned.

"What? Why do I gotta take my jacket?"

"Because you're the protector."

"Yeah, you're right. So I'm gonna use my hoodie, not my jacket, alright? Okay?"

Percy muttered, "Disgusting," and then drove Anaklusmos into the ground and wrapped Medusa's head in Grover's hoodie.

"Toss it up. No, don't – Ugh!" Grover stuck his tongue out as his hands made a sickening _squish_ by the snake-hair.

"Hey, hey, guys, wait. The Pearl," Percy said as he reached forward and plucked the very-eccentric-blue orb from Medusa's bracelet. "One down, two to go," Percy said, studying the Pearl.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~In the Truck~**

"Would've been nice if Luke had warned us about Medusa," I grumbled.

"Maybe he just didn't know," Percy suggested.

"GPS from the gods; where to next?" Grover asked.

Percy pulled out the map. "The Parthenon in Nashville…?"

"Nashville? Oh, great. Home of my least favorite music. YEEHAW!" Grover shouted. I grinned.

Soon, we fell asleep. I leaned on Percy and counted on Grover to keep us on track and stay awake. Unfortunately, things never really go my way when I'm out in the mortal world. Grover fell asleep as well and swerved into the other lanes, and I awoke not to Percy's beautiful voice telling me we were there, but rather a very, very large truck's horn, also waking up Grover. "Oh!"

"Let's stop for the night! Let's stop for the night!" Percy yelled and I grabbed onto his arm, scared Grover might go to bed again.

"Good idea," Grover agreed.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~The Motel~**

Grover pulled into a parking space.

We rented a room and Grover set Medusa's head in the sink. I took a quick shower and let Grover wash up as well. I shouldn't have stayed in the building. A wet wool coat smell covered the whole room. Lucky Percy was outside, in the pool. Speaking of Percy, I should be checking on him.

I ran downstairs and grabbed a towel. I stood by the edge of the pool, waiting for my boyfriend to surface. When he finally noticed me, he burst through the water, staring at me.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hey."

"Nice work today."

"Thanks. What happened to you?" Percy lightly tugged on my arm, the one to mortal held in her death grip.

"Oh, that poor lady that turned to stone. She, uh, she had a tight grip."

"Check this out." Percy dipped his hand under the surface and it came back up with a whole handful of water in his palm. He pressed it lightly to my fingers and the water ran up my hand, healing my wrist which was swollen oh so painfully.

"Cool. Very cool," I said, leaning closer to the water. Since Poseidon let Percy will the water to heal me, he must not mind that we are together, in a couple, romantically.

"So," Percy began, climbing out of the pool, "why do our parents hate each other? Why is our love forbidden, 'O Juliet?"

"Well, our love isn't exactly _forbidden_, per se, but rather… Unwanted. But anyway, they both wanted to be patron god of Athens. And, uh, the people chose Athena. And, um, our parents have hated each other ever since."

"What's your mom like?"

"I don't know. I've never met her." I cupped his cheek in one hand and leaned in for a kiss, but he pulled away.

"What? Is it – is it like this for everybody? Don't any gods see their kids?"

"Well, it's like how you first described our relationship: forbidden. Right after we were born, Zeus decreed a law that the gods couldn't have contact with their mortal offspring."

"Aw, that's a stupid law."

"I agree. Although, uh, between us, I think my mother speaks to me sometimes. In times of trouble, I hear her voice, giving me advice."

"That's happened to me!"

"Yeah, that's your father. Talking to you. Oh, that reminds me. I think your dad approves of our relationship." I was just about to kiss him again, but _GROVER_ had to mess it up.

"Hey, yo, Percy! Get in here man, this is ugly!"

"Right," Percy murmured. I handed him a t-shirt of which he slipped on.

"And hurry!"

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~The Motel Room~**

"Check this out. You're on TV." We all sat down on the bed, staring at the television screen.

" – _surrounding the missing boy, Percy Jackson, and his mother, Sally Ugliano. But their relatives have some interesting theories,"_ the news reporter said. The screen changed to another reporter interviewing Gabe. Disgusting fat pig. _"So, Mr. Ugliano, tell me about your son Percy Jackson."_

"_No, he's not my son. He's a stepson. He did not come from these loins. Ever since he started with the drugs and the alcohol he started going downhill."_

"Oh, no," Percy groaned.

"_And his girlfriend, his girlfriend was complicit from the beginning! She was cheating on him with a drug lord! She supplies him with the drugs!"_

I tensed and Percy glanced nervously at me.

"_Five nights ago, he tried to kill me and he threw his mother on the ground and his crippled friend then attacked me from behind and knocked me out. When I woke up, Sally was gone. She was kidnapped by Percy. She would never – ,"_ Gabe ranted.

"Oh, shut up, Gabe," Percy moaned as he turned off the TV. "Great. Now I'm a fugitive."

"See, that's what I'm talkin' about, man. Gabe's always runnin' his mouth. He's just mad since I busted him up with my crutches," Grover said after munching on a soda can and now headed to the bathroom. "Oh, now come on! Guys, I can't pee with her watching me." He held up Medusa's head.

I gave him a disapproving look. I took a shower with her, why couldn't he pee? In fact, _he_ took a shower too!

Then, there was the sound of rolling wheels. A room service maid just pushed her cart innocently by and accidentally saw Medusa. She screamed and ran to get some help. I bolted up and closed the curtains.

"I'm sorry guys; I really messed up. I should've closed the curtains," Grover shook his head.

Percy groaned.

"Come on, guys. Let's hit the road before homeland security shows up," I said.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~At the Parthenon~

"Wow," I said, observing the building before me, "a complete replica of the Parthenon in Nashville."

"Come on, guys," Grover commanded. "Let's go get the Pearl."

Percy pushed open the large doors and we stared in awe at the marble floors, the exact copies of the sculptures in the original Parthenon. But what really struck a chord in me was the statue of the one person I desperately yearned to meet:

Athena, my mother.

Percy took off his hood and looked around. Okay, so, no one noticed him as the missing fugitive, the boy who kidnapped his mother, according to his stepfather. "Hey," Percy said, nudging me, "it's your mom."

"I wonder if she really looks like that," I mused.

"We'll find out," Percy smiled encouragingly, and I wrapped my arms around him. "Thanks. That really means a lot."

"Guys," Grover interrupted. Again. "Check this out." He hobbled towards the statue of my mother and pointed a crutch towards the jeweled crown placed that surrounded the helmet placed upon Athena's brow. "The Pearl! That was easy."

"Easy? The thing's thirty feet in the air and this place is filled with tourists," I countered, looking around nervously in case anyone heard me.

"I got an idea," Percy murmured. Great. Since when were his ideas so brilliant? "We'll come back after this place closes. Come on, follow me." He took my hand and led me to the bathroom.

"Or I could just throw my crutch up there," Grover suggested. "Just saying the Pearl would fall out."

I smacked him. "Do not do that! You could damage the statue! And my mother would be seriously angry. This is the cleaner, non-ruined copy of her broken statue in Athens's Parthenon!"

"Perce!" No response. "Yeah, but I'm sayin' it's a good idea!"

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Later at Night~**

We all came out of our respective bathroom stalls. "The Parthenon's closed for an hour. Let's move!" Percy said.

"Yes, sir," Grover mocked.

"Okay, here's my plan," Percy said as we walked out of the bathroom. "We fly up. We use Luke's flying shoes and we grab the Pearl and then we - !" He stopped abruptly and pushed Grover behind a pillar. I stopped and hid behind one as well. We all took a peek. Janitors. Five of them.

"Okay, so, what are we going to do?" Grover said.

I pulled out the crossbow I was hoping we wouldn't have to use. "Okay, guys, I've got this," I muttered.

"You got what? Hey, whoa, whoa! You're gonna kill the janitors?" Grover whispered furiously.

"Chill," I said.

"Those are working class Americans!" Grover whispered/yelled after me. I quickly darted behind each one and shot them in the back with the darts. I heard Grover whisper, "Oh, man."

"My God, why'd you do that?" Grover said. Percy looked at me like I was a serial killer.

"They're not dead, they're unconscious. Now, we have thirty minutes. Let's move!" I rolled my eyes at their expressions and Grover sighed. "Good."

Grover worked on putting the janitors in a line, and Percy put on the shoes while I contacted Luke.

"Luke," I greeted.

"Oh, Annabeth," he returned.

"How do you turn on the shoes?" I asked.

"Tell Percy he's got to break into a run, okay? Tell him he's got to build speed like a jet on –on a runway. But it's gonna take some practice," Luke said.

"Okay," Percy muttered, rubbing his hands together. "I've got this." He started running, just like Luke instructed, and in seconds, he was in the air. "Whoa!"

"It's gonna take some practice!" Grover reminded him. But Percy was already on his way to the crown. He accidentally smacked against the statue a bit too hard and the shoes momentarily stopped. He grabbed onto the statue and slid all the way down to her. . . Breasts, where he grabbed onto for support. I turned away, very, very disgusted. Grover just yelled, "Whoa! Jeez!" and covered his mouth with a hand.

When I dared to look, Percy was slowly making his way up the statue. He plucked the Pearl – well, actually, the area around the Pearl came off too – and made his way down to the floor. "Yay, Percy!" I cheered very immaturely and hugged him. He knuckle-touched Grover and smiled. He removed the Pearl from the part of the crown it was resting on. "All right, let's pack everything up -," I began.

"Uh, oh. Uh, oh," Percy said. The five janitors had woken up.

"'Kay, I got this," Grover muttered to us. "Hey, I'm from Park Recreational Services. You guys've been caught sleeping on the job. You guys better be happy I'm not writin' you guys up; this is the last time - !" Grover started.

"We've been expecting you, Mr. Jackson," they all said unanimously. "Just give us the lightning bolt and we'll let you go."

"Look, I don't have the lightning bolt," Percy said.

A janitor blew a small plume of fire.

"Okay, this is bad," Grover said. You think?

All five of the janitors merged together to form one of the fiercest monsters: the Hydra.

We all ran for cover behind the pillars. "Guys, watch out; each one of them spews fire!" I warned.

We all stood securely behind a pillar as flames billowed past us, nearly scorching our clothing. A sleeve of Percy's jacket caught on fire, and he was so in a panic to put it out, he didn't even care about the Pearl, he released it from his grasp. He took out Luke's shield and Anaklusmos. We banged whatever we had against the Hydra's heads and Grover threw candy at it. Percy used Luke's flying shoes to get up high and cut off the Hydra's heads. "Percy, stop!" I yelled. When he didn't heed my command and instead went off happily lopping off heads, I shouted, "No!"

He landed on the floor. "How flippin' awesome was that? I killed that thing!"

I was too momentarily frustrated to even bother checking if my boyfriend was okay. "Killed it? You only made it worse."

"What are you talking about? Okay, just because I didn't save some for you doesn't mean you can go a psycho on me, babe."

"When you cut off one Hydra head, two more grow back," I informed staring at the Hydra's body behind Percy, already re-growing twice as many heads.

"Get back!" Grover yelled. Percy and I hid behind one pillar and Grover the one right next to us. "Distract that thing; I'll get the Pearl!" Percy commanded.

I grabbed my bow and quiver of arrows and shot arrows at the Hydra, nailing one head in the eye. The Hydra followed me as I ran, but my plan failed, as one head noticed Percy dashing towards the Pearl, and the rest of the body decided to follow. I got ready to shoot more arrows, but apparently, Percy didn't need any help. He was fending off the Hydra by himself, using his water powers. He made the drinking fountain explode and willed the water to form a wall, blocking the Hydra from getting to him. And even as all ten Hydra heads blasted plumes of fire at the water-wall, it still didn't go down until Percy snagged the Pearl and we all made a run for it. "Let's go!"

"Open the door!" Grover said as we tugged on the handles.

"The door won't open!" Percy said. I saw Grover pull something out of his backpack, but I turned my attention back to the door until I noticed I didn't feel any heat on my back anymore; the Hydra had stopped. Percy and I turned around to find that Grover had used Medusa's head to turn the Hydra to stone. Grover gave a whoop of joy, Percy and I looked over each other to make sure we were okay, and Grover kissed Medusa's cheek, and immediately regretting it, remarked, "Ew, that's nasty."

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Diner~**

"_Scientists are baffled by what seems to be a single storm cloud that is expanding over much of Europe and Asia, heading towards the United States. Savage wind, rain, and massive waves are being reported along the coastline of several continents. So far, there are no casualties, but countries everywhere are preparing for the worst,_" a news reporter said.

"The gods are angry," I stated, taking Percy's hand into my own. "We need to get the last Pearl. Where's the next location?"

"Yeah," Percy agreed and pulled the map out of his backpack.

"Okay, guys, we've got ourselves a good one." Grover leaned over to look at the map. "We're going to Vegas!"

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Lotus Casino~**

We gazed around the magnificent city as extravagant lights beamed and Grover pointed to sign that said, _"Enter here, the girls are waiting for you,"_ and remarked, "Are you sure that's not where we're supposed to go?" (A/N: I just added that line for the sake of my own sanity. How could perverted little Grover not remark on all the strip joints at Las Vegas?)

"Oh," Percy said. "There it is. The Lotus Casino."

"I've been lookin' forward to this. Remember guys, always split the eights and never the tens," Grover said.

"We're not here to gamble, remember?" I reprimanded.

"We got poker, we got blackjack," Grover listed.

"Grover, we're not here to have fun. We just have to grab the Pearl and go, okay?"

"All right."

We waded through the large crowds and noticed the large car in front of the doors.

"Okay, this place is officially my favorite," Grover said.

"Here is your complimentary Lotus Casino phonebook," a man said.

"Thanks, but we're not staying," I said.

"Please, I insist. It's good for everything in the hotel and the casino," the man continued.

"Don't comp us; we're not checking in," Percy stated flatly.

"Okay, that guy was persistent," Grover remarked.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "Now, we're here for one thing and one thing only." But we couldn't help but stare at all of the rides.

"Wow," I said.

"This place is amazing," Percy remarked.

Grover snorted.

"Where would we find a green Pearl in this place?"

"Uh, maybe on a cocktail waitress or a showgirl," Grover suggested. "We should start there." He meandered after a cocktail waitress and we had no choice but to follow the satyr.

"Can I get you something?" a waitress asked. "Try a Lotus Flower. They're so good. It's our signature dish."

Two more waitresses wandered up to us, holding up plates of what were supposedly Lotus Flowers.

"Oh, really? Signature?" Grover asked. All three of us carefully plucked a flower off of the plates as if the Flowers were explosives.

"Is it good?" Grover said.

"Thank you," Percy said.

"Yeah, do we have to pay for this?" Grover yelled.

"I guess we don't," Percy remarked.

"It's free," Grover agreed.

We all took a bit of it.

"Mm," Percy said amazed. "It's really good."

"Mm," Grover agreed. "It's the most delicious thing I've ever consumed!"

"Mm," I said. It tasted like chocolate, my favorite. But it also tasted like cotton candy, and the flavors changed to all of my favorite foods. Suddenly, things started to get a little weird. We all got a sort of happy feeling, as if we were high, and I am pretty sure that the Flower didn't contain marijuana. Then, we all go t a ticklish feeling, and we started laughing for no apparent reason. I'm pretty sure my mother wouldn't have been proud. "Wow," I said. Percy gave a little giggle, though it was quite gay.

"Guys, why don't we stay here for a while?" I suggested.

"That sounds like an amazing idea," Percy agreed and Grover started bleating.

"But we're on a time-sensitive mission, here," Percy said slowly, as if trying to recall something. We all laughed. "Aren't we?"

"I can't remember," Grover informed.

"I totally forgot what I was going to say."

I had an idea. "I think I've figured it out. I think I know why we're here," I smiled.

"Why are we here?" Percy asked.

"To have fun," I replied as if it was supposed to be totally obvious.

"Okay. Let's never leave!" Percy yelled. "Let's stay here!"

Grover went off to find some girls and Percy and I were so enchanted with each other that we actually started making out for a while in the middle of the casino, causing a lot of people to cheer, "KISS! KISS! KISS!" And so we did. After that, we went to play a few games, and Percy won every time. His prize: A Lotus Flower, of which I fed to him, while taking a bite of my own. And, usually, after every win, I kissed him.

We even made it to a hotel room once, and we were just about to, well, you know… But Percy jumped up and said, "I can't. I can't do this."

"Why? Too scared?" I purred, placing my hands on his toned chest and pushing him down onto the bed.

"No!" he leaned up. He picked up the Lotus Flower I was going to feed him and he threw it in the trash can.

"What's your problem, bastard?" I yelled at him, slapping him.

"Get a hold of yourself!" he slapped me in return. "Don't you see what the Flowers are doing to you?"

"Oh," I said. "I get it. It's not the Flowers. You just think I'm a whore, don't you?"

"Annabeth, what? I don't know what you're talking about! I love you!"

"I'm not falling for any more lies, Percy. We're through," I huffed, picking up my clothes and leaving.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Later on in the Casino~**

I found Grover and sat at the very end of the couch he was on. "Hey," he said. "What's wrong?"

"Percy and I broke up," I replied bitterly.

"Oh, no," Grover replied, though he didn't sound that sorrowful. "Anyway, I'm going to the chapel. We're getting married!" He pointed to all of the girls beside him.

"Oh, good for you," I said sarcastically.

"Annabeth!" Percy's voice came from across the room. He weaved through the crowd and finally came to us. "We have to get out of here. Do you know what time it is?"

"The fifteenth," I said. "Duh."

"No, no. I was watching TV in the hotel room, seeing what info the cops got on us, and the news said it was the _twentieth_!"

I bolted straight up. "That means our deadline is tomorrow!"

"I know where the Pearl is," Percy said. "Find us a means of escape while I get it."

"But – but," Grover panicked, "my wedding -!"

"Forget about it!" I snapped. Percy splashed Grover with some water and yelled, "Wake up!"

"Come on, goat boy," I said and dragged an unwilling Grover across the Casino, and we stood by the car near the entrance. A couple of minutes later, Percy came running, the Pearl in his grasp, but a dozen Casino personnel were chasing after him. "Go! Go!" Percy screamed and we all crammed ourselves into the Maserati. Grover quickly found the keys, started the car, and bashed the glass doors down.

"Now that's how you drive! That's how you get out of a casino!" Grover yelled excitedly.

"Of course," I said with recognition. "Now that all makes sense."

"What?" Percy asked.

"That was the lair of the Lotus Eaters. They've been luring people into their traps since ancient times," I replied.

"We've got more things to worry about. Our deadline is tomorrow at midnight."

"All right," Grover said. "Where's Hades?" Percy unfolded the map. "It's in…Hollywood."

"All right," Grover said again. "I can get us there in four hours. Maybe three." He stomped on the gas pedal, throwing us back into the seats and sped past other cars.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Hollywood Sign, the Underworld~**

"_An unprecedented storm cloud has grown to cover most of North America. Authorities in several states are ordering evacuations, reporting severe weather conditions_," the news reporter said.

We veered off the road and parked in front of the giant cliff where the Hollywood sign was perched neatly. We ran along the sign until we got to the giant 'H.'

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Percy said, stopping us. In very faint graffiti, there was a sentence written in ancient Greek. "_Woe to all the brave souls_," Percy translated.

Nearby, rocks crumbled away, revealing the entrance to the Underworld. We meandered into the hole and it closed itself once we were all in, trapping us.

"Well," Grover muttered, "there ain't no going back now."

"Yep," Percy agreed. Looks like we're stuck in here."

The whole place was littered with skulls and bones and candles, and I instinctively grabbed onto Percy's hand. He arched an eyebrow at me like, _What happened to 'we're over?' _A boat soon came into view, and a man in a black cloak stood in it. Probably Charon.

"Oh," Grover whimpered. "Who's this guy now?"

"I don't know," Percy replied, letting go of my hand and clicking Anaklusmos. "Let's find out."

"Who are you?" the guy who was probably Charon asked.

"We need to see Hades," Percy said firmly.

"The living are not permitted here. Die and come back."

Well, that certainly improved our mood.

"Okay," Grover said. "We won't 'die and come back,'" Grover muttered a bad impersonation. He called us into a mini group meeting. "You know what we've gotta do?"

"What?" Percy asked.

"We've gotta pay the ferryman. Watch this." Grover turned to Charon. "Yo, my friend! Whaddup? Okay, I guess not. Look, you like dead people, right? I got a few dead people you might recognize. Check this out: Jackson, Grant, and look who's joining the party – Benjamin Franklin. Yeah, you like that, don't you? Give us a boat ride, and take the money, and get an interior decorator here because it too depressing here, all right?" Grover handed Charon the money, who then proceeded to burn the money. Grover let out a small cry like, _What the hell did you do that for? _

"That's $170!" Grover cried.

"Wait, wait," Percy said. "The drachma, the drachma." Percy fished some coins from his pocket and handed them to Charon. "Climb aboard," Charon said.

"Thanks for telling. Burning money when we're in a recession," Grover muttered.

"Shut up," Percy reprimanded and pushed him on board. "Go on."

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Hades's Palace~**

(A.N.: Too lazy to write about the river in the air they travel on.)

We heard a very large, very unattractive howl from inside Hades's palace. "Guys, do you hear that?" I asked.

"Yeah," Percy said. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Grover replied.

"Whoa!" Grover yelled as we were attacked by two hellhounds, one from the left, and the other from the right. We struggled to keep them away with our weapons.

"What do we do?" Percy shouted over the hellhounds' growling.

"Back," a woman yelled and said something else in ancient Greek. The hellhounds left.

"What were those things?" Percy demanded.

"Hellhounds," the woman answered.

"Ah. Well maybe you should feed 'em," Grover suggested.

"They sense the presence of another animal," the woman said.

"Oh, great. They smell goat," Grover muttered.

"A satyr," the woman noted. "I haven't had a satyr…visit before."

"Persephone!" A voice yelled. "What could possibly be taking so long?"

Persephone touched Grover in an intimate way. Then I remembered that's how intimate Percy and I were. That is, before we broke up. Grover slapped her hand away.

"Don't ignore me!" the voice continued.  
"Or what?" Persephone shouted back. "What will you do? I'm already in hell."

We followed Persephone into the supposed 'den.'

"We have visitors," Persephone said. In a big black armchair sat Hades, lord of the Dead. He had a beard, and his hair was black. He dressed like Mick Jagger.

"Nephew," Hades said. He got up and walked over to us. "Welcome. You have your father's looks. Always the, uh, lucky side of the family." Percy glanced away. He didn't really seem to like Poseidon. Or the mention of them being related to each other.

Grover laughed. "Wait, wait, wait. You're Hades?"

"Yes," Hades said with the tone like _And your point is?_

"Oh, sorry. I didn't expect you to look like this, man. Kinda stylish, man," Grover said.

"Would you prefer I looked like this?" And he transformed into the fiery beast from the banquet after Capture the Flag. Percy and I looked at each other, remembering the time when Percy confessed his undying love for me. "Oh, oh, NO, NO!" Grover said. "No, stick to the 'Mick Jagger' thing! It works for you!" Hades bellowed at us. He reverted back to his original form and he snorted. Then, he winked at Persephone. He was trying to impress her. She rolled her eyes like _Show off._

"You are very brave, coming here," Hades said. "Come closer." Percy inched forward. I followed, and Grover whispered, "Hey. Perce." He reluctantly trailed behind me.

"I can see the look of disgust in your eyes," Hades said. But I was too occupied by Persephone's flirting with Grover. I stopped and hid behind a chair. Hades only wanted Percy to hear, but I was still very precautious.

"But this existence was not of my choosing," Hades continued. "I was banished here by Zeus and your father. I have a chance of getting out of this place. I have to defeat my brothers and take control of Olympus. But, of course, um, I'll need the Bolt."

"Then I need my mother," Percy said.

"Then we have an understanding," Hades said. "You give me the Bolt, and I give you your mother."

Percy looked nervously at us.

"I need to tell you the truth: I – I'm not the 'Lightning Thief.' I don't have the bolt. I never did," Percy confessed.

Hades nodded, his eyes trying to comprehend the situation. "Why did you come here then?" Hades asked, finally unable to detect the boy's reasoning.

"Well, I was hoping that when you say that I wasn't the 'Thief,' you'd let my mother go," Percy reasoned.

Hades started muttering to himself and then turned to Percy, "You think I'm an idiot? I'm Hades! Now give me the Bolt, or say goodbye to your mother!" He picked up this ball that looked woven out of twigs or something. He smashed it against the ground. Vapors released from it and Percy, Grover, and I found ourselves staring at Sally Jackson. Percy threw the shield Luke had given him onto the floor and ran to embrace his mother.

"Percy!" Sally gasped as her son hugged her fiercely. I started forward too. "Annabeth!" I hugged her as well. I, along with Percy, had missed her.

"I thought I'd lost you forever," Percy whispered. Then we looked at the shield. In the area where the arm is strapped to the shield, part of it came out, revealing a secret compartment that held a lightning bolt. Hades took the lightning bolt out of the compartment. The bolt grew to a larger size, just a few inches short of Hades's arm. Persephone came forward to touch it.

It was the Master Bolt.

"Zeus's Master Bolt. Liar!" Hades accused.

"I swear, I don't know how that got there. It's not even my shield," Percy said.

Recognition dawned over me. "No, Luke rigged it. He put the Bolt in his shield and used us," I said, walking over to Percy to provide backup. Grover followed.

"Luke stole the Lightning Bolt," Percy said.

"Um, I think we're done her. Feed them to the souls," Hades commanded. Persephone put her hand up, and the sort of gates to the fireplace started to crumble away, and the fire grew even larger. Screams were heard from the fire.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Percy yelled. "We had a deal, all right? You asked us for it! Let us go!"

"Summon the hounds," Hades told Persephone. She called something in ancient Greek , and sure enough, the hounds came bounding towards us. The growled at us and Grover yelled, "Lassie, sit. Sit!"

I heard Hades mutter, "I am going to be king of the gods." We tried to destroy the souls, but they were strong. They wouldn't vaporize. "Stay back!" Grover said. The souls pushed as forward, towards the hellhounds. "Stay!" Sally commanded. I looked up as Hades and Persephone kissed. She snatched the Master Bolt away from him.

"All right, come on," Hades chuckled. "Give it back."

Persephone gave a little cry of power that made all of us look away from the hellhounds as she zapped Hades with the Master Bolt. Persephone laughed. We resumed fighting the souls. She yelled something in ancient Greek. The gate to the fireplace pieced itself back together, and the hellhounds leapt away.

"Bad dog!" Grover shouted.

"He won't remember a thing!" Persephone crowed happily, poking Hades. We crowded around her.

"Why'd you do that?" Percy demanded, pointing Anaklusmos at her.

"Because," Persephone answered, "he's cruel and abusive. The only thing I look forward to is my a lot of time away from this hell hole. A war of the gods would put an end to that. And I'd be alone with only him for company."

Persephone thrust the bolt at Percy. "Go. Take the Bolt and your mother." Percy clicked Anaklusmos back into its pen form. Percy fished out the Pearls.

"Only three," Persephone noted.

Realization dawned on my ex. "Oh, no."

"There are four of you. Each Pearl only transports a single person. One of you will have to stay."

I had a feeling she wished Grover to be the one to stay.

"All right, I'll stay. You three go," Percy volunteered. Persephone seemed pretty okay with that. I mean, who wouldn't, with Percy's astonishingly good looks.

"What? No," Grover and I said at the same time.

"Percy, look," I said, grabbing his arms. "We may still not be together, but I still care about you. I'll stay. Talk to your dad. And maybe," I hesitated, "Maybe tell me more about my mother when you can visit sometime.

"No, no, no, no. I've achieved my quest. I'm staying here," Percy said firmly.

"No, I won't let you. I've trained for such a long time for this," I countered.

"No! Annabeth, I still love you. You're not staying in the Underworld," Percy said, hugging me. I pushed him away and we started arguing about who should stay.

"Guys, guys," Grover said. "Knock it off." We both looked at him as if he transformed into the hydra. "I'm staying because I am the Protector."

"Grover, come on," Percy pleaded.

"I don't want to hear it," Grover said. "Just go. It's my duty. It's what I'm meant for." I had a feeling he was in it because he wanted to be with Persephone, but it was probably my imagination.

"We'll come back for you," Percy promised.

"I'll take very good care of him," Persephone said flirtatiously, turning Grover's head to look at her.

"All right," Grover said. "Now move it, guys. Step on the Pearl, and visualize where you want to go." He probably explained that to Sally only, because Percy and I still remembered from when Luke told us. Percy handed Sally one Pearl, and me the other, while he kept one for himself. He looked at both of us. "To Olympus." We all placed our Pearls onto the floor and stomped on them. They soon whisked us to the Palace of the Gods.

**XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX**

Wow, this was a long one.


	4. Part 4 of 4

**The Lightning Thief, Percabeth Style**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Olympus, After the Fight with Luke~

We exited the elevator leading up to Olympus, but Sally couldn't go further.

"Percy, look," Sally said. "You've got to go!"

We hurried up the steps all the way up to the giant palace of the gods.

We heard Zeus say, "Time has run out." But, Percy dashed forward into the throne room. "Wait, wait!" he called as he did so. We looked like ants compared to the huge gods in the throne room. "Wow," Percy muttered under his breath.

"My name is Percy Jackson," he said. "And, uh, I think you might be looking for this."

Wow, could you be more disrespectful – especially in front of the gods?

I gave him a glance of disappointment and returned my attention to the gods. Then, I saw my mother, Athena, standing next to Zeus, who was next to Poseidon. We ran to Zeus.

"Give me the Bolt, Lightning Thief," Zeus commanded. Percy tossed up the weapon of mass destruction, and you could hear thunder exploding outside as lightning fell as the Bolt returned to its master's hand.

"You were wise to betray your father," Zeus sneered.

"I didn't steal it. And I have no connection to Poseidon," Percy said, which must've hurt the sea god, because a pained expression darkened his features.

"Then tell me: if you didn't steal it, who did?" Zeus said.

"Luke," Percy replied, "Son of Hermes."

The god who I guessed was Hermes looked shocked and pained.

"You see, he was angry at you," Percy explained. "All of you. He wanted you to destroy yourselves."

Percy grasped my hand.

"You have done well," Zeus complemented.

Everyone looked a Zeus. "Let there be peace," he decided. Percy and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Hi, Mom," I said, and Percy smiled at me encouragingly.

"Annabeth," she returned. "I'm so proud of you. But this thing with the son of Poseidon, that has to go." All three of us, Percy, me, and Athena, we shared a laugh. Poseidon faintly smiled.

"Zeus," Percy said, "I have a good friend. He's a satyr named Grover. He's my Protector and the only reason we escaped the Underworld was he stayed behind." Zeus smirked a bit. "And now, you expect me to bring him back?" he asked. "Very well."

"I believe this assembly's business here is finished."

"Great." Apollo was the first one to get up and began listening to his iPod, probably relieved he didn't have to side with anyone and get on the other's bad side. Either that, or the fact he was just _reaally_ bored. (A.N.: Sorry. I just reaally had to add that one.)

"Brother, please," Poseidon begged. "I need to speak with him."

"Just this once," the lord of the sky replied. Zeus and everybody else except for Poseidon left, probably to their chambers.

I sensed the personal-private-father-son-talk aura in the room, and I said, "I'll meet you outside." I kissed Percy's cheek and walked out the door.

XXXXXXXXxxxxXXXXXXXX ~Back at Camp~  
"Hey, Percy," I called as we got ready to spar. "I was wondering if… If we could patch things up? I mean, forget the whole Lotus Casino thing?"

"Sure," he replied.

I leaned in forward to kiss him… Only to snatch his sword away and point my own at his throat. "First rule of battle strategy: don't ever let you opponent distract you. But really, I do want to get back together."

"Hey!" Percy yelled. "Oh, all right. But come on, give me the sword."

I handed the sword back to him and we began sparring. I won more than him, but that didn't matter. He was staying year-round, so we could be together for the rest of the year.

_Fin_


End file.
